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26 Nov 2007 : Column 249W—continued
Methadone
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been on methadone programmes for over five years. [166377]
Dawn Primarolo: This information is not collected centrally.
Milton Keynes Hospital: Hospital Beds
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the occupancy rate of Milton Keynes hospital was in each month of the last three years. [167590]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Information is not available in the format requested. The following table shows the average daily bed occupancy rate at Milton Keynes General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for the period covering 2004-05 to 2006-07 which is the latest data available.
| Percentage | |
| Source: Department of Health KH03 form | |
Milton Keynes Hospital: Maternity Services
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the ratio of midwives to bays was in the delivery suite of Milton Keynes hospital in each shift in the last three months. [167589]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The information requested is not held centrally. It is the responsibility of individual national health service acute trusts to ensure that staffing levels are sufficient and do not compromise patient safety.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many births there were in Milton Keynes Hospital in each month in each of the last five years. [168047]
Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 26 November 2007:
As the National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question about how many births there were in Milton Keynes Hospital in each month in each of the last five years. (168047)
Figures on live births in hospitals are available from birth registration information. The latest available figures by place of birth are for 2005. The attached table shows the figures requested for the calendar years 2001 to 2005, for the General Hospital in Milton Keynes.
| Live births in Milton Keynes general hospital, by month of birth, 2001 to 2005 | |||||
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | |
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to assist Milton Keynes hospital in meeting the Government aspiration of a one-to-one midwife per birth ratio in its delivery suite. [168048]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: Local national health service trusts are responsible for the provision of maternity services. This year NHS organisations, including Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, have been required to review maternity services, including an assessment of their workforce capacity. A range of mechanisms are in place to support local recruitment of midwives if needs are identified, for example to enable midwives who are not practising to return to work in maternity services.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what occasions his Department has agreed to a delay in implementing a National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence technology appraisal. [166382]
Dawn Primarolo:
Directions that came into force on 1 January 2002 require primary care trusts and national health service trusts to make funds available to ensure that a health care intervention recommended by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence is
normally available to NHS patients within three months of NICE issuing new technology appraisal guidance. There have been 12 appraisals for which the funding direction has been waived or amended. Details are given in the following table.
NHS Treatment Centres: Private Sector
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to open new private sector diagnostic and treatment centres for NHS patients; and if he will make a statement. [165160]
Mr. Bradshaw: As part of the Phase 2 Independent Sector (IS) Procurement Programme, the Secretary of State has announced that approvals are in place for two new PET-CT schemes which will provide scanning services in the North and South of England, and for a new renal scheme which will provide dialysis services in Cheshire and Merseyside, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire to proceed to financial close. Seven other Phase 2 IS schemes will also proceed through the procurement process. These services will be run by the IS but funded by the national health service, and free to NHS patients.
NHS: Billing
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether suppliers using NHS Shared Business Services are required to use the OB10 invoicing system; how many suppliers the NHS Shared Business Services deals with; and what the impact on costs to (a) his Department and (b) Xansa are from OB10 being used. [164589]
Mr. Bradshaw: NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) Ltd is running a trial programme to establish the take up rate for electronic invoicing and OB10 is their preferred supplier. Neither client trusts nor suppliers are required to use the OB10 e-invoicing system and enrolment is entirely at the discretion of suppliers.
At present, NHS SBS has over 90,000 suppliers registered on its system.
No record of cost is being kept. NHS SBS is a 50/50 joint venture with Xansa Ltd. The Department's share of any profits made by NHS SBS will be passed on to its national health service customer base. If costs of NHS SBS reduce as a consequence of using OB10, the NHS's share of these will be fed back to its customers by way of additional profit distribution.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS Shared Business Service costs (a) his Department and (b) Xansa to run. [164590]
Mr. Bradshaw: In the last accounting year, NHS Shared Business Services made an operating loss after tax and interest of £13.268 million. This loss is borne equally by the two stakeholders.
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which NHS (a) trusts and (b) other organisations are implementing the OB10 invoicing system; what guidance his Department has given on the OB10 system; what assessment he has made of the effect on the price the NHS organisations pay for services and goods of the OB10 system; what estimate he has made of the net financial effect on the NHS of the OB10 invoicing system; and whether (i) the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency, (ii) NHS Supply Chain and (iii) Collaborative Procurement Hubs (A) are using and (B) plan to use the OB10 system. [164591]
Mr. Bradshaw: It is up to individual national health service trusts and organisations to decide on whether e-invoicing is appropriate for their organisation and, if appropriate, the preferred supplier. Records are not held centrally on the number of NHS customers of OB10 or any other e-invoicing system.
No guidance on the use of OB10, or any other e-invoicing system, has been issued by the Department.
Use of e-invoicing systems such as OB10 has a number of benefits that should produce savings for all users. Costs are saved in the NHS trust because invoices do not have to be opened, scanned and distributed, and matching them to the order is simplified. There is greater accuracy and certainty for both supplier and the trust and suppliers benefit from speedier payment, in line with the Government's prompt payment policy.
No estimate has been made of the net financial impact on the NHS of the use of OB10.
The NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency do promote the use of OB10 among its suppliers, but do not mandate its use. NHS Supply Chain do not use OB10 and they already have their own integrated e-ordering and e-invoicing system.
No records are kept centrally regarding the e-invoicing policy of each NHS Collaborative Procurement Hub.
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